Export prices of Vietnamese cashew nuts continue shrinking, forecasting a thorny year for local cashew exporters, according to chairman of the Vietnamese Cashew Association (Vinacas), Nguyen Van Bien.
Vietnamese cashew nut exports are presently selling for around US$3,700-3,800 per ton, down US$400-500 against the previous month and 50 per cent compared to the same period of last year.
The prices, however, are predicted to not increase in the coming time since the world’s largest cashew producers namely India, Brazil and African countries report lucrative crops whilst global demand remains low, Bien said.
Huu also voiced his concern over possible losses to local cashew processors as production costs have increased by 25-30 per cent. The processors should not buy fresh cashew nuts at over VND8,000 per kilo to ensure benefits, Bien added.
But, local farmers will not be pleased to sell their products at such low prices.
“We are selling fresh cashew nuts at around VND8,700-9,000 per kilo,” said farmers in southern Binh Phuoc province, Vietnam’s largest cashew growing area, revealing that they may witness a poor harvest this year.
Vinacas has called for some VND2,000 billion in loans from domestic banks such as Vietnam Commercial Bank and the Technology-Commercial Bank to help its members buy raw cashew nuts.
Vinacas needs around VND3,165 billion to buy all 500,000 tons of raw cashew nuts in the 2006 crop. Some 4.3 kilos of raw cashew nuts may be churned out into one kilo of cashew kernels.
In other news, Vietnam is expected to raise its export turnover from cashew products to around US$620 million in 2006, US$700 million in 2007 and US$1 billion in 2010 from US$418 million last year.
Vietnam currently is one of the world’s top five cashew nut producers, making up for 28 per cent of the world’s total cashew nut output.
Total cashew area in Vietnam will be expanded to around 450,000-500,000 hectares by 2010 from currently 400,000ha.
T.V
Vietnamese
